


it’s a wonderful life

by lucastown



Series: mileven one shots [9]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Emo Mike Wheeler, F/M, Guardian Angel, I miss Mileven, I wrote this when I was fifteen, Merry Christmas, Please Proceed With Caution, Suicide Attempt, el deserves better, it’s a wonderful life, lowercase intended, they deserve the world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:13:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28259025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucastown/pseuds/lucastown
Summary: to live or to die.it was choice, a choice he would have to make right here, right now.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler
Series: mileven one shots [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1250885
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	it’s a wonderful life

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE TAKE EXTREME CAUTION WHILE READING THIS: this story references depressive thoughts, violence towards minors, drugs & alcohol, and has an attempted suicide in it. 
> 
> i wrote this when i was 15 so please do not judge it too harshly. it is based off of the movie “it’s a wonderful life” and i thought i would post it here as an early christmas present :)

to live or to die.

it was choice, a choice he would have to make right here, right now. 

he could, hurl himself into the darkness beneath, only to be found dead in the water a few hours later.

or, he could live. 

he could continue to live in a world that was so unkind to him, a world that gave him so much but so little. he could leave the place where all hope seemed lost for him, where all his hopes and his dreams slipped through his fingertips.

he would rather die than face another day in the torturous world where he would never be good enough. 

he would never be good enough for his mother who wanted a son that would talk to her, that wouldn't lash out when he got angry. 

his father wanted a son who played ball in the park with, not some stupid old card games in the basement.

he would never be good enough for nancy, who deserved a little brother who didn't embarrass her all the time. who wasn't known for being a dork, it just tarnished her own reputation. 

even his little sister, holly. she deserved an older brother who could protect her, who could save her from bullies and not get bullied himself. 

his friends, oh, his friends deserved so much better. 

they deserved someone who didn't take all of their anger out on them. someone who helped them out of trouble, not getting them into it. 

and el who was sunshine and a storm mixed together perfectly. she was so perfect. 

she deserved everything and someone who could give her the universe. 

he felt his own cold tears roll down his cheeks, not even caring that they were freezing to his face. 

i wish i was never even born. 

the december air nipped at his exposed skin, turning his pale cheeks a rosy color. 

he so wanted to step off the cliff, just as he had done two years ago, to save dustin. 

el had saved him then, she had always saved him. 

taking a step closer, the pale boy was now at the very edge of the cliff, one more step and he'd be falling to his inevitable doom. 

just as he was about to step off, letting all thoughts of the life he once knew out of his head, a voice spoke. 

it was one of a teenage boy's, he couldn't have been any older than mike, "hello, beautiful night isn't it?" the boy spoke. he stood on the very edge, next to mike who had snapped his eyes open to stare at the boy. 

he was short, a skinny boy with blond hair, he smiled at mike before takin one more step. 

mike gasped as the boy fell, he could hear the sickening sound of water being splashed, meaning the boy was submerged in a freezing lake.

without thinking, mike swiftly jumped into the lake after the boy, desperate to try and save the stranger. 

the fall was short, but it gave mike enough time to realize what he had done, and before he knew it, his body hit the cold water. 

he could feel every single bone in his body go numb, the cold reaching places he didn't know cold could reach. 

somehow, he was able to keep swimming, he was able to keep himself from drowning. 

his eyes opened under the water, revealing a blurry outline of two legs, kicking. 

the other boy was alive too. 

mike continued to kick upwards and finally he was met with oxygen, his lungs heaved as he took a deep breath, the air hitting his icy face. 

he turned to the boy who just smiled and continued to swim towards shore, mike's eyebrows raised in confusion as he followed the boy to shore. 

when he got there, he stood up, expecting the cold to hit him like a freight train, but there was no cold, hell, he wasn't even covered in water anymore.

his eyes widened as he looked down at his now dry body, "what the hell?" he mumbled.

the blond boy smiled, also, now dry. "not so cold anymore." 

mike stared at the mysterious boy, "w-who are you?" he asked. 

the boy laughed, "andrew, my friends call me drew." he said, with a grin.

"right, well i'm uh," mike started but was cut off. 

"mike wheeler, yes i know." the boy interrupted, tripping over his own feet slightly, mine began backing away from the boy, his eyebrows furrowed. 

"uh, should i uh, know you from school or something?" he asked, stepping away from the blond boy.

the boy shook his head, "no mike, i don't go to school." 

" well then how do you know my name?" the freckled boy asked, making the blond shaking his head with a laugh. 

"i'm your guardian angel, i know all about you mike," andrew said.

"my-my what?" he asked, dumbfounded by the boy.

"your guardian angel." andrew repeated. 

"okay then, where are your wings?" he asked, raising an eyebrow up at the boy. 

"i haven't gotten them yet." the blond replied, simply. 

" did dustin or lucas put you up to this?" mike asked.

"how could they have? you didn't tell them where you were going tonight, you didn't even tell el." he said, shrugging.

mike stood, continuing to stare at the boy, his body staring to shake with fear as a revelation came over him, " are-are you from hawkins lab?" he asked.

the boy only laughed, "goodness no, i told you i'm your guardian angel." 

"yeah okay," mike mumbled, running a hand through his raven hair. "that still doesn't explain anything!" 

"what doesn't it explain?" andrew asked, tilting his head to the side.

" well for starters, why you jumped into the lake." mike said, raising an eyebrow at the boy as if challenging him. 

"because i knew you'd save me." the boy replied.

mike stood awestruck for a moment, not knowing what to say after that. 

"w-well that doesn't explain why i'm not soaking wet anymore!" he blabbered.

andrew shook his head, "you can't get wet if you don't exist." 

"if i don't exist?" mike asked, his voice raising, "what's that supposed to mean, i'm right here aren't i?" 

"well sure, i can see you, but no one else can." andrew explained, the lopsided grin never leaving his face.

"what?" mike asked, growing more and more confused.

" that wish you made, the one on the cliff, it came true." andrew said, shrugging his shoulders.

"what wish?" mike asked, cautiously.

"that you had never been born." 

••• 

"i'll show you." mike mumbled as he trudged on faster, andrew trailing behind him as the marched into hawkins. 

all around, people were out and about, christmas shopping, talking with friends, the snow fell over everything like a blanket. 

mike smirked once he saw a curly haired boy whom he knew all too well. 

"dustin!" mike called out, running towards the boy who continued to walk. 

dustin had his head down, an unfamiliar green hat rested on the top of his curls. 

"dustin!" mike called again, but dustin walked right past him, as if he hadn't seen him. 

mike frowned, his heart starting to race, maybe andrew was telling the truth. 

"that was weird." mike mumbled, furrowing his eyebrows together. 

"lots of weird highs are going to happen today." andrew told him, making the boy scowl.

he turned, a bright color of red catching his eyes.

max stood by melvad's, her back was turned to him but he knew it was her. 

"max!" he called, rubbing in the direction of her. 

she too didn't turn around, mike ran to the front of her.

it was max, but she held a cigarette in her hands, puffing out smoke, she coughed before placing the cigarette back onto her lips. 

her under-eyes were dark, indicating she hadn't slept in a long time and she reeked of cigarettes and alcohol. 

"max?" mike whispered before turning to andrew, "what happened to her?" he asked. 

"without you and your friends' positive influence, max's situation got worse at home and she started to fall in with the wrong crowd." andrew explained as the two stared at max. 

"didn't dustin and lucas and will befriend her?" mike asked, turning his gaze away from max and back to the blond boy. 

andrew shook his head, "you weren't there to bring them altogether, none of them are friends, mike." 

mike stood staring at the boy, "wh-what?" 

"they're not friends." andrew repeated. 

"where's my family?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly his eyes pleading with andrew to tell him. 

“i’ll show you,” andrew whispered. 

••• 

the house stood, looking as it always had for as long as mike could remember. 

he took a deep breath before pushing the door open, the usual warmth not hitting his body, instead it felt cold. 

he was immediately greeted with a shrill voice screaming, "nancy!"

mike flinched, not use to her harsh tone.

"mom!" he called out, only to be met by deaf ears.

"nancy wheeler, get down here right now!" his mom yelled once again, this time even louder.

" coming!" he heard his sister's voice snap from upstairs.

"mom!" he yelled again, running to the kitchen, andrew trailing behind him.

his mother stood, a cigarette in her mouth and her hair askew. mike stared at her, not even recognizing the woman in the gray outfit, yelling for her daughter to come downstairs. 

"nancy marie wheeler, i will not ask again!" his mother screamed, grabbing the cigarette out of her mouth and placing it in between her finger tips.

"mom?" mike whispered, staring in shock at her. he turned to andrew, "what-what's happened to her?" 

but before mike could get an answer they were interrupted by the sound of feet stomping down the stairs. 

his older sister came into view, only it wasn't the nancy he knew. 

this nancy wore a gray sweatshirt like her mother with ripped up jeans and her makeup smeared. bags hung under her eyes like she hadn't slept in years.

"what did i do?" she snarled at her mother, fiercely glaring at the older woman.

"i don't know, you tell me." her mother snapped, her eyebrows raising upwards. 

"i don't know what you're talking about." nancy spat, rolling her eyes.

"really? that was chief hopper on the phone, he wants us to come down to the station." the older woman snapped, putting the cigarette back up to her lips.

"wh-what's happened to them?" mike asked, his eyes wide as he stared at his mother and his sister.

" you weren't there to keep nancy grounded, she didn't have to set an example, your mom, didn't take to her daughter's new," he paused, "habits very well." 

"ted, watch holly!" his mother screamed, taking the cigarette out of her lips and putting it into the ash tray.

mike couldn't believe this was his mother, how she could have turned out like this.

"let's go." she hissed, grabbing her purse and nancy's right arm and pulling her out the door.

mike glanced at andrew before swiftly chasing after the two, andrew jogging to keep up. 

mrs. wheeler pulled nancy into the garage where she finally let go of nancy's arm to get into the driver's seat.

mumbling something incoherently, nancy climbed into the passenger's seat. 

"well are we going to go with them, or what?" andrew asked, looking up at mike. 

" how can we?" mike asked, staring at the brown minivan he didn't recognize sitting in the garage.

andrew rolled his eyes before taking a step closer to the car, "you really suck at this, ya know." 

and with that he stepped into the side of the car and vanished leaving mike awestruck. 

mike stood for a few moments, wondering how the boy had done that before he heard the car engine turn on.

he sighed, it was now or never. 

taking a deep breath, he stepped into the van.

•••

the brown minivan pulled into the police station, making mike breathe a sigh of relief.

nancy and her mother had been fighting the whole ride there and mike was not sure how much more of their bickering he could take. 

his mother opened the door, nancy following suit. andrew shot a small grin at mike before stepping back out of the car.

mike sighed, following the boy out of the car. 

the two followed the women who continued to bicker into the police station.

" chief hopper asked to see us." his mother said to a woman at a desk who peered over her small glasses at the pair.

"yes, he's with someone else now but-," the woman started but was cut off by a familiar voice, 

"it's been three years, hop! i know he's still out there, just find my boy!" joyce byers screamed as she walked into the room, hopper next to her but not looking directly at her.

"we're doing everything we can joyce, i promise." he said. he looked how he had looked when mike had first met him, tired and even a hint of sadness was left etched on his features.

"it's not enough!" joyce yelled, her hair was askew, she had sweats on and a large red jacket. 

"andrew, w-where's will?" mike asked, looking to the blond boy.

andrew sighed, knowing that mike had to find out, "missing." 

"missing? what do you mean missing?" mike questioned, his eyebrows raising.

" i mean he's in the upside down, mike, he has been for three years." andrew explained, making mike's face go a sickly pale. 

"no-no! el-el saved him from the upside down!" mike argued. 

andrew shook his head, a grim express written on his face. mike stared at the boy, finally, putting two and two together. 

"w-where's el?" he questioned, his voice shaking. 

andrew closed his eyes, not wanting to tell the trembling boy, "i-i don't think you'll like it...." 

"where is she?" he snapped, his body starting to shake along with his voice. 

andrew flinched, a frightened look in his blue eyes. 

"where is she?" mike repeated.

••• 

the two teenagers stood outside of a big building that mike was all too familiar with. 

hawkins lab.

"w-why are we here?" mike asked, even though he already knew the answer, he didn't want to believe it. 

andrew sighed, putting a hand on mike's shoulder, "i think you know why, mike." he whispered, staring sadly at the boy.

the freckled boy could feel tears forming in his eyes, the gross feeling in the pit of stomach expanding.

"no," he whispered, shaking his head and keeping his eyes squeezed shut. 

"mike, without you there to save her, they found her in the woods that night," andrew explained.

the raven haired boy could not help but let a a small tear escape his eyes and roll gently down his cheek.

"do you want to go in?" andrew questioned, his hand not leaving mike's shoulder.

mike didn't, he really didn't. it made him sick to think of what he might witness, what he might hear, but he had to. 

something in him pushed him to nod and proceed to walk towards the door. 

maybe it was his own curiosity or maybe it was guilt, but whatever the feeling he felt burning in him was, it made him step forward and push the doors open to the lab. 

andrew followed him. the inside smelt like a hospital would, only, hospitals were meant to help people. 

andrew pointed at a door on his left, mike nodded and began walking towards it. 

they opened it, revealing a bare, white hallway that the two walked for a few moments before they heard a voice. 

"stop! stop!" the voice cried out making mike's heart stop.

•••

it was el.

he would recognize that voice anywhere. his heart dropped, the tears that had formed in his eyes started to fall down his face. 

his feet hitting the tile of the lab's floor. the cold hitting his arms as he ran.

"el!" he screamed, unable to contain himself.

" mike!" andrew screamed from behind him, running behind the raven haired boy.

"eleven!" mike yelled, not even once looking back at the blond boy who ran behind him.

the girl continued to scream from somewhere inside of the building, her screams echoing off the walls and flying every which way so that mike couldn't identify where exactly she was.

"please, please stop!" her voice screamed out, empowering mike's legs to run faster. his legs becoming so sore they burned when he moved. 

he couldn't focus on the throbbing pain he felt in his thighs, he couldn't even focus on andrew yelling at him to slow down. 

he could only focus on getting to el.

he saw different doors and turns, he truly didn't known where he was going, he was just listening to the sound of her voice. 

he turned down a long hallway, her screams starting to sound closer and closer.

he had lost andrew somewhere in the labyrinth of halls, but he couldn't bring himself to care when she was so close.

he turned left down a hallway, following his gut instinct.

"el!" he shouted, hoping that somehow she'd hear him. 

he ran, the screaming sounded like it was next to him now. 

and there she was.

she looked as she had when mike had first met her, her head shaved. deathly pale and far too skinny for a girl of almost sixteen. a hospital gown adorned her small body.

she was sitting in a metal chair, her arms and legs restrained as men in lab coats stood all around her with metallic rods. in front of her, a human, lay on the floor, dirty and chained up, his eyes begging for el to have mercy.

tears fell from her chocolate eyes as she shook her head, a chilling voice speaking slowly to her, "eleven," it warned. 

dr. martin brenner stood, only a couple of feet away from el. 

mike wasn't sure where exactly he was in the lab or what was in between him and el, it looked to be glass, but he couldn't be sure but nevertheless, he pounded ferociously on it, attempting to break the strong barrier. 

the second he saw brenner, his body grew red with anger, a hot feeling beginning to boil up everywhere. 

" eleven!" he screamed as he continued pounding on the material in front of him, in hopes of reaching her.

he vaguely heard a panting noise to his side, signaling andrew had arrived but mike couldn't bring himself to even look at the boy next to him. 

" no, papa, please." el cried, making mike's stomach twist unpleasantly. 

"eleven, kill him." the white haired man ordered, "or you will have to be punished, you know the rules." 

mike watched eleven whimper, she turned back to the man who lay before her, pleading with her.

she stared at him for a minute, trying to find it somewhere in her to kill the innocent man, she couldn't. 

brenner stared at eleven for a moment before glancing towards the men standing next to her, giving them a brief nod before they readied their rods and stepped closer.

"what are they doing?!" mike asked, pressing his face against the glass, "no, no, no!" 

the men raised their prods, sparks of electricity flying off of them. 

" no! don't you touch her, bastards! let her go!" the freckled boy's face grew paler as he screamed, pounding onto the glass. 

the rods were placed on el's pale skin, making her let out a gut-wrenching scream.

tears rolled down mike's eyes as he watched a red welt swell on her arms, "let her go!" he screamed.

he wasn't sure how long he watched or when el's screams grew louder or when he placed his hands on his ears, unable to endure it anymore. he had fallen to the floor, curling up in a ball and rocking back and forth, trying to distract himself.

"eleven! i'm sorry....i'm so sorry, i want to go home, i want you home, i'm sorry, i'm so sorry." he murmured to himself.

"mike." an angelic voice whispered.

"i'm so sorry." he mumbled, not even having heard it. "i'm so sorry el." 

"mike!" the voice was louder now.

"i'm sorry." he mumbled again.

•••

"mike!" el screamed, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

his eyes fluttered open, making her gasp as tears rushed to her eyes.

the boy looked up at her, his own eyes glossing over.

"el?" he questioned, she nodded before pulling him up and embracing him tightly.

her arms wrapped around his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist, snuggling his head into the crook of her neck.

she was safe. 

after a few moments of embracing, the two pulled away and mike turned to look around.

he was at the bottom of the quarry, completely dry. behind el, the party stood, watching him with concern. 

they were all there.

dustin, in his familiar baseball cap, lucas staring at him with his head cocked to the left side. max standing there, her lips not touching a cigarette but curved downwards in a concerned look, and will. will was there and alive. 

"i-i knew you were here." el explained, her voice cracking as she stared up at him.

he looked down at her, still soaking her all in, she was safe.

she wore the long, black coat with a furry hood outline that hopper had gifted her. the fuzzy hat she had stolen from mike rested atop her brown curls. her nose was red and her cheeks were rosy.

"mike why-why are you here?" el questioned, pleading with him to give her answers.

"i-i, i don't know, anymore." he whispered, looking around at his friends. 

she let a small smile fall onto her lips,he couldn't help himself, he cupped her rosy cheeks and found himself catching her frosty lips against his own.

when they pulled away after a moment, el's eyelashes fluttered open innocently, her small smile growing wider. 

he could hear his friends making gagging noises in the background, but he didn't care. 

as he stood, staring down at el, he noticed something, in the pocket of his jeans. 

he furrowed his eyebrows before grabbing a small, folded piece of paper out.

he unfolded it to reveal a messy scrawl that made him smile widely.

thanks for the wings.  
\- andrew

mike stared at the note for a couple of moments, making el frown once again and touch his arm gently.

"mike, is everything alright?" she asked, the boy stood in silence for a few moments before turning to her. 

"everything is wonderful, el."

**Author's Note:**

> andrew is my original character but that is it, i do not own “it’s a wonderful life” or “stranger things.” i hope you were able to enjoy this even the tiniest bit. i’m sorry it’s so awful. i hope you all have a wonderful christmas and a happy new year <3


End file.
